Lace-tipping machibte



A. SCHMALZ.

LACE TH'PING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 15, 1919.

1,325,997. Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

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AIIBAN' SGHMAIJZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

. LACE-TIPPING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

Application filed J anuary 15, 1919. Serial No. 271,187.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBAN SGHMALZ, a citizen of the Republic of Brazil, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lace-Tipping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

. My invention relates to lace-tipping machines and has for its primary object the provision of improved means for curling a metal blank about a shoe lace. A further object of the invention is the provision of improved means for upsetting the curled metal tip to form one or more metal teeth projecting from the tip into the shoe lace to prevent displacement of-the metal tip longitudinally of the lace. Another object is the provision of an improved shoe lace-tlpping machine wherein the curling of the metal about the lace and the upsetting; of the curled tip are performed successively in the same stroke of the driving head of the machine.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken in conjunction with the ac companying drawings which form a part of this specificationv and illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention;

In the drawings: t Figure 1 is a top plan view of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof partly sectioned approximately on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the invention showing a different position of the parts from that illustrated in Fig. 2 and having a portion of one of the crossed handles broken away.

Fig. 4 illustrates in-plan view an end elevation of blank of metal operated upon by the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a view of one end of a shoe lace showing the same provided with the metal tip fastened-thereon by use of the present invention. Y

While the present invention is illustrated and herein described as being mounted upon and operated by a pair of crossed handles it will be obvious that the advantages of the invention may be attained in any other formof actuating mechanism whereby the movable parts are driven to'their work.

- Reference numeral .10 i di ates a frame which for the purposes of this description will be considered to be stationary with respect to a driving head 11 adapted to reciprocate toward and from the frame. A guideway 12 is formed horizontally in the frame and receives a plunger 13 normally pressed in a direction outwardly of the guideway by means of a helical spring 1 1. The outward spring induced movement of plunger 13 is limitedby means of a set screw 15 threaded into the frame 10 and which engages a slot 17 extending longitudinally in the side of the plunger.

1 The bed or bottom surface 18 of the guideway 12 is recessed to provide a thin slot 19 between the bedof the guideway and the bottom of plunger 18. Just to the rear of slot 19, that is to the right in Fig. 2, a semicylindrical channel 21 is formed in the bed '18 of the guideway. This channel need not be in cross section completely semi-cylindrical, but may be very shallow comprising in cross section an are less than a half circle. The frame 10 at its rear end (the right hand end in Fig. 2) is bifurcated to form a lower jaw 22 and an opposite substantially parallel upper jaw 28, the slot 19 and channel 21 being cut in the upper surface of the lower jaw. The rear end of the plunger carries an integrally formed thrust block 24 which has sliding engagement on its upper surface with the lower surface 25 of upper jaw 23. At its forward end the upper surface 25 of jaw 23 is slanted forwardly and downwardly as at 26 to form a cam surface the use of which will later appear. The lower rear portion of thrust block 2 1 is cut away to form a surface 27 substantially paralleling the lower surface 18 of the guideway 12,

the rear portion of surface 27 being curved downwardly and then rearwardly to form an edge 28 where it joins the lower surface of plunger 13. In the open position of the parts this edge 28 parallels and stands opposite the forward edge of channel 19, the edge being spaced from the channel the thickness of slot 19 and defining the upper rear corner of that slot. Theupper portion of driving head llterminates in a shoulder 29 and on the lower portion of the driving head is formed integrally a forwardly projecting plate 81 adapted to enter between lower jaw 22 and the surface 27 of thrust block 24;, the forward surface of this plate being cylindrically curved as at 32 so that in onjuncti n with the curved. forwa P rti n herein shown frame 10 is illustrated as being formed integrally upon a handle 33, and companion handle 3%, crossed over- 33 and pivoted thereto as at 35, carrying the driving head 11. Driving head 11 is pivoted as at 36 to handle 34: and normally held down upon the lower surface 18 of guideway-12 by meansof a coil spring 3?. i A coil spring 38 is interposed between handles 33 and 3a to give them a normal tendency to open. Companion shear plates 39 and 41 are respectively fixed uponhandles 33 and 34: near the pivot 35 and may be used in trimming off the frayed end portion of a lace after curling of the tip thereon.

A three sided rectangular slidcway 42 is formed in the upper forward corner of thrust block 2% and, in cross section, is in clined with its opening projecting forwardly and upwardly at an angle of substantially degrees with respect to the lower surface 25 of the upper jaw 23; the bottom of the slideway substantially paralleling the upwardly slanted end 26 of the lower surface of jaw 23. Extending rearwardly and downwardly from slideway 42 are a plurality of die-bores 43 each slightly enlarged as at $4. The die-bores 43, of which there are preferably three, are parallelwith each other and extend at right angles to the lower rear surface or bottom of slideway 4:2. Mounted in slideway 42 and traversing thrust block is a die-block 4L5 carrying three dies -16 each disposed in one of the diebores 4-3; the dieblock 45 and the dies being normally pressed forwardly and upwardly into contact with lower surface 25 ofjaw 23 by meansof helical springs 47 positioned in the enlarged upper portions at of the die-bores. Die-block 45 is so proi portioned that it stands spaced from the bottom of slidc'way 2 in the open position of the parts illustrated in Fig. 2, and in this position of the parts the lower pointed ends of dies 46 do not intersect the curved surface that intervenes between edge 28 and surface 27 of the thrust block.

At48 in Fig. is illustratedfto the left in plan and t0 the rightin end elevationthe metal blank which is curled by the present invention into a tip 4:9 (see Fig. 5)

about'the end of a shoe lace 51.

I'In the operation of the invention the blank d8 1s positioned in slot 19, where its forward edge butts against the shoulder 52 which: defines the forward limit of the slot.

vThe rearportion of. the blank as shown in dotted, lines in Fig. 2, spans the channel .21fa'nd extends a 'veryfslight distance reariwardly thereof. The end of the shoe lace .alf'i's now inserted betweensurface 27 y of the thrust'blockhnd the upper surface of the blank 48. By pressing handles 33 and 34: toward each other, or byany other suitable means, the driving head 11 is now driven forward beneath the thrust block, the curved surface 32 on plate 31 of the drivin head catching and carrying upward the rear edge of the blank. During this forward movement of the driving head the upward movement of the rear edge of the blank will continue until that edge reaches the deepest portion of the curved surface and the continued forward movement of the driving edge buckles the blank clownwardly into the shallow channel 21 thereby bending the rear portionof the blank upwardly and causing it to slide upwardly and forwardly till the rear edge of the blank 7 passes from the curved surface 32 of the driving head plate into sliding relation with the surface 27 of the thrust block. The for ward movement of driving head 11. continuing from this point causes the rear edge of the blank to travel forwardly anddownwardly across the curved forward end of surface 27, and past the edge 28 At that point in the operation "where" the rear edge of blank L8 has encountered the surface 27 of the thrust block, the shoulder 2-9 of the driving head contacts with the rear surface of the thrust block driving the latter forwardly between aws 22 and 23 and against the pressure of spring 14. As the blank is curled there-from its curved portion travels forwardly while its forward edge isstill held stationary by abutment against shoulder 52. The forward movement of the driving head 11 brings the upper forward sun face 53 of the die-block l-3'into flat contact with cam 26 of the lower surface of upper jaw 23. And, after that contact, the con tinued forward movement of the driving head and the die-block travels downwardly along cam 26 durin the continued forward movement of thrust block 2% until the dieblock strikes the bottom of slideway 42 thereby limiting the forward movement of the thrust block and the drivinghead. In this last movement of the parts the dies 4:6 have been driven downwardly and, rearwardly into the matrix generally indicated at 5a: in Fig. 3 resulting in the upsetting of the curled blank 48 and the formation of three inwardly projectingteeth 55 (see Fig. 5) whichextend into the tightly pressed, end of lace 51 and prevent movement of the cylindrical metal tip l9 longitudinally of the lace. Retraction of the drivin'ghead 11 and the thrust block 24: to the normal open position of Fig. 2 permits withdrawalof the tipped lace, the frayed extremity of which beyond tip 49 may be sheared off by theplates 39 andfll.

Preferably the size of the matrix 54, isso proportionedincross section thatthe material of the liming is ightly compressed within it and preferably also the width of the blank 48 is such that when curled within the matrix, the metal cylinder so formed comprises a single thickness of metal through substantially one-half of its cross sectional circumference and double thicknesses of metal through the remainder of its cross sectional circumference. The arrangement of the parts is such that the teeth are formed in that portion of the metal tip 49 which is composed of a single thickness of 1 block slidable in said frame and carrying one part of a matrix across said slot, and a driving head carrying a complementary matrix part movable across said channel and slot.

2. In a lace-tipping machine, the combination with a frame, of a pressure head carrying part of a metal bending matrix movable along a continuous surface of said frame, there being a blank holding slot formed in said continuous'surface, adapted to receive a blank to be bent by said matrix portion and there being also a channel formed in said continuous surface along one edge of said slot, said matrix portion being so] arranged as to first traverse said channel and afterward traverse said slot.

3. The combination with a frame of a thrust block slidable therein, a forward matrix portion carried by said thrust block, a pressure head movable against said thrust block to cause travel of the thrust block within the frame, a rear matrix portion carried by the pressure head, said matrix portions being arranged to form a metal shoe lace tip, teeth forming dies movably mounted in the thrust block, and a cam positioned in the frame and adapted to project said dies into the matrix upon the conclusion of the tip-forming movements of said thrust block and matrix. a

4. In a lace tipping-machine, the combination with a frame and parts movable therein for forming a metal tip on a lace, said parts including a movable thrust block, a cam positioned in the frame, and dies movably carried in the thrust block and actuated to form teeth in the said metal tip by movement against the cam.

5. In a lace tipping-machine, the combination with apparatus for forming a metal tip on a shoe lace comprising a frame, and a thrust block reciprocable horizontally therein, of obliquely positioned upsetting dies slidably mounted in said thrust block, and an oblique cam positioned in the path of movement of said dies and arranged to project the latter into a tip formed byv said apparatus.

6. In a lace tipping-machine, the combination with a frame, of a driving head reciprocable therein, a thrust block actuated by the driving head and mounted for reciprocation in the frame, said frame driving head and thrust block having matrix forming parts arranged to bend a metal blank into a cylinder, an upsetting die carried by the thrust block and movable into said matrix, a spring normally holding said die without the matrix, and a. fixed cam positioned in the frame and adapted to receive said die during the movement of the thrust block to drive the die into the matrix formed by said frame pressure head and thrust block.

7 In a lace tipping-machine, the combination with parts forming a matrix for a lace tip including a frame, and a thrust block reciprocable therein, of a die carried by said thrust block, movable into said matrix, and reciprocable in the thrust block in a direction oblique to that of the reciprocation of the thrust block, a flat cam surface formed in the frame and positioned obliquely to the path of movement of the thrust block and a flat cam contacting surface substantially paralleling said cam sur face and formed upon said die. In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

ALBAN SCI-IMALZ. 

